I TAKE A DRIVE IN MY CAR: Chromatics' neon-tinged "Night Drive", thoughts & review...

"Night Drive" is where Chromatics came into their own, crafting their own style heavy in synths and reminiscent of the Italo disco movement of the '80s. A drastic departure from their previous punk roots into a certainly bold new direction.

It starts as a loose concept album with an opening dialogue heard in "The Telephone Call", a simple intro which sets the album in motion, quite literally: a late night drive, going 'til the sun comes up. The soundtrack to its own imaginary noir flick. The segue track borrowed from the album's title sets the tone for the rest of it's runtime, a synth-led track with soothing vocals from the lead Ruth Radelet. It all comes together to create an almost dreamlike and surreal atmosphere that is a feast for the ears. It gives you a moment of levity, free from responsibility as you clear your thoughts and focus on the open road. Nothing else matters for that little while, driving away and around from your problems. The ambience it strives to achieve and ultimately succeeds is unlike any album before it.

The neon-soaked imagery continues onto the track "Running Up That Hill", a reinterpretation of the Kate Bush song from this album's thematic time period. The opening instrumental hook can't help but summon up an almost nostalgic feeling, a sense that something great has passed and there is a longing for it to again be the present. It retains its meaning of two different perspectives, this case gender, never properly aligning with one another and what would happen if an actual swap could possibly happen. This is inevitable of a cover, conflicting with the loose concept established earlier with the late night drive. Individually, however, it is a fantastic track, a perfect continuation of the dreamlike atmosphere mentioned prior.

The succeeding track, "The Killing Spree" is purely instrumental and is ripped from the pages of John Carpenter, its sound being so similar it could fit perfectly into any of his films within that time period. It's an eerie build with the synth gradually building until it drops and lingers before it ceases entirely, serving as an intermission to keep you on your toes which is later used in "Tomorrow Is So Far Away".

The album flows seamlessly from track to track until it comes to a sudden stop with the 15-minute brick wall that is "Tick Of The Clock". Whilst it is not a bad beat in and of itself, even being prominently featured in the wonderful Nicholas Winding Refn film "Drive", it stretches on far too long and ruins the sense of pace that the album had achieved thus far. A shortened version would be much recommended so as not to miss out on what it has to offer, but its length baffles, a mystery as to who thought it would be a good idea to drop what is effectively a 15-minute loop slap bang in the middle of their album.

It immediately course corrects from then on out, continuing the lush atmosphere that the preceding tracks had created earlier with particular highlights such as "The Gemini" in the form of an electronic lullaby or the finale "Accelerator", an epic pumping track to close it all off and consolidating the album's concept. An interpolation of the title track, it ties it all together and gets your head nodding to the thump that kicks in as soon as it starts. It gradually builds to a thrilling climax before the album has its goodbyes and lets you go, presumably as the sun rises.

There isn't much else out there quite like it, "Night Drive" is what it suggests and what its atmosphere is perfect for: a drive to take your mind off things as you go on into the night. Regardless of whether that is achievable or not, this album deserves your attention as it seemingly has gone under many a person's radar. This is the synth noir album you never knew you wanted but were always looking for.

 

THREE FLAVOURS CORNETTO: The World's End (2013), just one more...

THE WORLD'S END is what most people consider the weakest of the series - I'm here to disagree with that.

Why I believe this film is not the worst of the three but the best, reasons are aplenty. The complete role reversal between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for one. In the past two entries, Pegg has been the upstanding citizen or at least the better of the two, with Frost being the self-deprecating and borderline dumbbell. This time, it's different. It's unusual seeing Pegg as the loony, and he fits into the archetype perfectly, the entirety of the film he is bursting with energy and is so pinned on his rose-tinted spectacle of the past it's heartbreaking. However, as they progress to titular pub, Frost reveals his true colours as a drunken beast of a man, albeit that isn't applicable to his initial character.

I feel also that this holds up more because it mixes the niche subject matter of Shaun of the Dead and the hilariously over-the-top, debris-filled action of Hot Fuzz to garner the best of both worlds. It learns from its predecessors and takes appropriately from them to become the most progressive film of the three. The same silky smooth camera work and direction trademarks have their place, only more refined. The cumulative experience of past work coming together at once.

As for audience reaction, upon its release, the reaction was certainly positive and a majority of critics seem to agree with me, but no one whom I know that has seen The World's End thinks it is anywhere near the best, but the worst. That I don't understand, with the only aspect of this film that I could nail down to that attribute perhaps being the plot, in its simplicity. However, that never dismayed audiences with either of the past films, as Shaun of the Dead in itself was no complex narrative.

If anything, the detail of The World's End should simply please any fan of the Wright/Pegg/Frost collaboration, an example being how each of the pubs that the cast has to crawl through to achieve The World's End not only foreshadow the plot, but the characters actions within said plot, The Old Familiar serving as quite a hearty and memorable punchline from a much more prominent, gladly, Martin Freeman. The supporting cast is arguably the strongest also, as usually a majority of the chemistry between Pegg and Frost's characters are solely with their characters, and The World's End opens that up to a whole crew, broadening the personalities on offer whilst also maintaining said tight chemistry, as if it were still between only the two.

The whole film ties up the loose trilogy very nicely, perhaps incredibly, as all of the past efforts and experience with one another culminate to create the most refined, being equally as entertaining as the past two if not more, as the loving care and homages are all still there, it just makes it so very difficult not to recommend for one who is looking for a comedy. As The World's End, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are all must-watches for anyone who is even remotely interested in film, regardless of their preferences. It is a guaranteed good time.

A montage/recap of the best of the trilogy, obvious major spoilers ahead...

THREE FLAVOURS CORNETTO: Hot Fuzz (2007), back for seconds...

The "extravaganza" continues...

HOT FUZZ is the second and what most people would argue is the best of this titular and loosely-related trilogy - and with good reason.

Blue is the colour of Hot Fuzz, as well as the colour of the trilogy's name check, and by all means far more action-oriented than the previous entry. That only benefits Hot Fuzz, as it allows for the spoofing and subsequent homage to not two but three separate and wholly clichéd genres: comedy foremost, but the buddy cop sub-genre housed within action. What is also housed within Hot Fuzz is a bigger budget and more star power, Timothy Dalton lending his hand to a rather villainous role that he was destined for.

I sung high praise for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost which needs not to be sung again, as honestly they've done just as well, if not better than prior. They follow their character's archetypes to a tee, Pegg being the attentive hard-worker with Frost countering with his slacker sensibilities. There is honestly nothing more to be said that hasn't been said already as regards to their performances, at least in the case of Hot Fuzz.

The reason I believe as to this film's wild success in comparison to Shaun of the Dead which was already a wildly successful film is that the punchy dialogue and more accessible action sequences lend themselves to a much more mainstream audience. The niches of Shaun and the latter sequel The World's End, from horror to science fiction have never been as popular as a straight forward action flick, which is all the more perplexing as Hot Fuzz certainly has some definite horror elements within it.

Besides the film's success other than it being deserved, this film is awe-inspiring in its creativity, watching, you can really point out the little nuances and details in almost every aspect of film making. It demonstrates how much fun they must have had during it's production and that transmits on the audience perfectly, judging by the matter of fact I have never spoken to anybody who has actually disliked this film.

Whilst I may have mentioned that the previous entry Shaun of the Dead was intended as a horror, Fuzz doesn't hold back in it's usage of blood and gore. Perhaps past Shaun, as it features a literal head explosion, the screen spattered with the colour red and other gleeful gore. The special effects are to be commended in that extreme case and in most others also.

Now, while this is not my favourite of the three Cornetto flavours, it certainly still is incredible, delivering wall to wall laughs and some pretty mind-boggling action interwoven to leave a long-lasting impact on you as a viewer. With that, there is only a lead onto the next and final film of the comedic combos - as Danny Butterman would say, they're simply off the fucking chain... another one for the Station's swear box.